'We have been working on this since early 2012. It's terrific to see it finally coming to fruition,' said former mayor Cllr George Lawlor who, along with Minister Brendan Howlin campaigned hard behind the scenes for the development - the first new secondary school to be built from scratch in the town since the Christian Brothers in the mid-1870s.

The Loreto development on a greenfield site, once earmarked for housing and a nursing home, will see the creation of a two- and three-storey school building with state-of-the-art educational and sports facilities. The first phase of the work will see major ground works including site clearance and the creation of access roads.

There were no objections to the 900-student school which will be built off the Duncannon Road at Ballynagee and which it is hoped will open by early 2017.

The 10.3 acre site is bounded to the east by the Whiterock residential estates, to the south and west by agricultural land and to the north by the R733 Duncannon Road.

The school will have a full-size GAA pitch, hockey pitch, three ball courts, car and cycle parking and a drop off area.

The school building itself, which will be sub-divided into two district blocks, will range from two to three storeys, with the physical education hall providing direct access to the GAA and hockey pitches. A planning report says the new school will greatly enhance the immediate locality and create a new energy to the area in keeping with the Wexford Development Plan 2013-2019.